Kendrick Lamar has opened about his concert film Live from Paris: The Big Steppers Tour and the “special” significance of filming in the French capital.
The Compton rapper livestreamed his October 2022 tour stop in the French capital through Twitch, before releasing the director’s cut on Amazon Prime Video the following month.
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The sold-out concert, which was part of his massive Big Steppers world tour, also coincided with the 10-year anniversary of his major label debut good kid, m.A.A.d city.
On Tuesday (December 12), Kendrick sat down with Brandon “Jinx” Jenkins to discuss the project at an intimate screening and Q&A session in New York City.
When asked why he chose to film his Paris show and not one of the four dates in his hometown of L.A., K. Dot joked: “N-ggas was just copying JAY-Z and Kanye [West].”
He then said: “Nah, like Dave [Free] said, that shit hold a special place for us ’cause me and boy who’s thuggin,’ we was on a little boat or something shooting ‘Backseat Freestyle’ and the ‘God Is Gangsta’ video.
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“We was thuggin’ around that muthafucka like 2012, 2014. That was like second home, just shooting shit, just getting material. So to go back and shoot on the anniversary of good kid, that’s special.”
Kendrick also jokingly admitted that he was “shaking ass” more than usual during the Paris concert, knowing he was also putting on a show for people at home.
“The difference for me was, I was shaking major ass, man,” he said, prompting a laugh from the audience. “I ain’t never shaken that much ass, bro! But at the same time, it’s freeing, though, ’cause that’s who I am.”
Directed by Mike Carson, Dave Free and Mark A. Ritchie, Live from Paris: The Big Steppers Tour is nominated for Best Music Film at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, which take place on February 4, 2024.
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It will face off against 2Pac‘s Dear Mama docuseries, David Bowie’s Moonage Daydream, Little Richard’s I Am Everything and Lewis Capaldi’s How I’m Feeling Now.
Kendrick is also up for two additional awards: Best Rap Performance (“The Hillbillies” with Baby Keem) and Best Music Video (“Count Me Out”).
